Ken has been in the piano and organ repair business in St. Louis since 1975 servicing all makes of electronic organs and acoustic pianos in the Greater St. Louis area. His received a Bachelor of Music degree from Webster University in St. Louis in 1965; a Masters in Business Administration from Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, Illinois in 1976. In between, took a correspondence course in basic electronics and had that reinforced in the Military.
He joined the U.S. Air Force in December 1966 received Commission in February 1969 and left active duty in 1974. In 1976 Ken joined the Missouri Air National Guard and retired from this in 1988. Next he joined the Air Force Reserve in 1986 until retiring as Major in May 1991.
In 1983 Ken became one of the founders of MITA, International (actually started as EMIT). He is currently the National President of the organization; annual Seminar Coordinator (with the help of the rest of the Board) and was the Secretary/Treasurer of the local chapter in St. Louis until it went "dormant". He was editor of the MITA publication until 1988 and prior to that editor of the EMIT, St. Louis Newsletter."
Ken is also involved with other organizations including; member of the Air Force Association, Reserve Office Association, Air National Guard Association, member of Barbershop Harmony Society (formerly SPEBSQSA - Society for the Preservation and encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America). He is also a Registered Piano Technician member of Piano Technicians Guild and over the past years has variously held all offices of the local chapter as well as editor of the chapter newsletter.
MEL Lewis
Owner/Manager
Third Vice President
Lewis Electronics Service
1702 Bennigan Drive
Hillard, OH 43026
Melvin Lewis attended the University of Cincinnati, College of
Engineering (no degree) 1957 to 1960. Joined the Air Force in 1961,
went to technical school at Chanute AFB in Weather Equipment Repair.
Attained the rank of Master Seargent before resigning in 1973 to
become a full time organ technician in Dayton Ohio. Melvin worked for
Gulbransen as a District Service Manager in the upper midwest for 2
years and then went to Rodger's as National Service manager for 4
years.In 1985 Melvin left Rodger's , moved back to Ohio where he has
since been servicing organs full time. Melvin has presented sessions
at the MITA convention on both Rodger's and Gulbransen organs.
Lonnie Smith
Owner/Manager
Fourth Vice President
Smith's Music
2030 Raible Ave
Anderson, IN 46011
Lonnie has been involed in the music business all of his life. His family started
the business in 1966. During that time they sold Hammond, Kimball, Conn. Kurzweil
& acoustic pianos. The business currently teaches & has a wood working
facility. Lonnie attended Ball State University & Ivy Tech State College
where he earned an electronics degree. He has been involved with MITA since
it started. He currently services & sells in a muti-state area.
Robert Spoon
Owner/Manager
Fourth Vice President
(candidate)
MusicElectronics Inc.
5517-A Market St. (shipping address)
Springdale, AR 72764
Robert was born in 1952 in Chicopee,Mass. Raised mostly in Corpus Christi,Texas
where in 1975 at the urging of his wife left the glamorus life of a gigging
musician to become an electronic organ technician for the company she worked
for.
After completing a course in Radio and TV repair,Robert went to work for the
company in 1976 and started his career in organ service. In 1980 Robert started
Music Electronics and became an independent technician. In 1987 Robert came
to Arkansas to work for Baldwin P & O Co. until the company ceased operations
in 2001. In 2003 Robert bought Steven's Custom Organ Co. and changed the name
to Music Electronics Inc. Also the company moved to Springdale, Ar. to a better
location for service the the NWA area. Robert is an avid musician, loves to
fish and play golf and lives with his lovely wife Cindy and their 2 dogs in
Lowell, Arkansas.
CYRUS ROTON
LCDR USN Ret.
Field Engineer, Data General, Ret.
MITA Webmaster
(active)
236 Primrose St
Ridgecrest, CA 93555
Cyrus joined the Navy in 1950, and became an Aircraft Electrician, working
his way up to Chief Petty Officer. The Navy let him play with some great toys.
In 1962, the Navy send Cyrus to college, at the University of Oklahoma, to major
in Engineering Physics. After Officer Candidate School, in 1962, he was commissioned
as a LTJG, and spent the next four years teaching reactor plant engineering
at the Navy Nuclear Power School, Mare Island, California. While there, he got
his first technical experience with organs, by building a Heath Kit (Thomas).
Another nice toy.
After leaving the school, Cyrus served on a guided missile cruiser, on a repair
ship, on the staff of the Commander 2nd Fleet, and as electronic warfare officer
on a NATO staff. He ended up at the electronic warfare test range at China Lake,
CA, where he retired at the end of 1978.
Next, Cyrus worked eleven years as a field engineer with Data General, installing
and maintaining large and small computer systems. Got to play with some more
great toys. At home, he did extensive programming on the Apple II computer,
mainly in circuit analysis software, graphics plotting, and graphics display.
After having so much fun playing with all that great equipment for 40 years,
Cyrus could not completely give it all up. Organs seemed like fun toys to tinker
with in his old age. Somewhere along the way, he inherited leadership of the
local Apple User Group (computer club), and just naturally gravitated toward
playing with web pages.
ANDY SEITZ
Owner/Manager
Secretary
The CIRCUIT RIDER
PO Box 324
Billings, MT 59103-0324
Andy Seitz, born in 1939, was blessed with the ability to
understand Electronics at an early age. While in high school, he was
active in organizing a Civil Air Patrol Cadet squadron where he
served as Communications Officer. Eventually he became Communications
officer for the entire Montana Wing. After trying pre-engineering for
two years, he and his English teacher Miss Arnold decided that Andy
did not belong in college. Joining the Air Force in 1959, Andy
immediately went into and the advanced electronics field of Special
Weather Research. Subsequent assignments found Andy working in the
early Titan Intercontinental Ballistic Missile program and finally in
the Minute Man Missile program. The true electronics repair work was
being replaced with automation and depot level repair. Andy's
interests waned and in 1972, after 12 years, Andy decided to try
another career in electronics.
Since he had been working part time since 1969 in Avionics repair
at the Great Falls International Airport, he decided to go full time.
He remained in the Avionics field until Saturday, July 15, 1978, at
3:00 PM when he quit shaving. After a year of running a dating
service, Andy returned to his first love, electronics. Moving back
home to Billings in 1979, Andy went to work in a Land Mobile repair
shop until 1986.
Andy entered the Organ repair field in 1986 and shortly thereafter
became self employed as the CIRCUIT RIDER. Andy feels as thought he
has finally come to rest in his search for a satisfying career in
electronics and after ten years feels no compulsion to ever change
careers again. He stated that he will probably die lying on the floor
fixing an old organ. As if Organ Repair is not enough to keep him
busy traveling 3,000 miles a month around Montana and northernn
Wyoming, Andy also works with the blind on "talking" computers. Andy
says; "Repairing organs is my vocation and working with the Blind is
my avocation."
